Janusz H.S. Kabarowski received his B.Sc. degree in Biochemistry from University College London, UK. He was awarded a Ph.D. degree from the Leukaemia Research Fund centre at The Institute of Cancer Research (Chester Beatty Laboratories) in London in 1997. Dr. Kabarowski subsequently conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Owen Witte at UCLA. Dr. Kabarowski joined the Department of Microbiology at UAB as an Assistant Professor in 2003 and has a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Pathology, Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology.

Research/Clinical Interest

Title

Lipids and lipoprotein metabolism in chronic inflammatory disease

Description

Dr. Kabarowski’s research program is focused on the study of lipids and lipoprotein metabolism in chronic inflammatory disease (notably atherosclerosis and autoimmune disease). Early work characterized the role of the G2A lipid receptor in atherosclerosis and lipoprotein metabolism, showing that pro-atherogenic effects of this receptor may be mediated through its modulatory influence on hepatic High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) biogenesis. More recently, Dr. Kabarowski’s group described autoimmune-mediated effects on HDL metabolism in normolipidemic mouse models of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and currently a major effort of his laboratory is directed toward developing therapeutic approaches by which anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties of HDL may be harnessed to improve major Lupus phenotypes and combat premature atherosclerosis, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in this and other rheumatic autoimmune diseases. Emphasis is placed on determining the mechanisms by which protective anti-inflammatory properties of HDL are subverted by chronic inflammation, understanding how this influences immunoregulatory processes involved in SLE and atherosclerosis, and establishing the therapeutic efficacy of HDL-targeted approaches such as HDL mimetic peptides in SLE and other autoimmune diseases.